sigranite sink and boiling water

ardcpJuly 11, 2014

i have had my silgranite sink for about 2 months. when i was researching ad nasuem, i saw somewhere it was mentioned that dumping boiling pasta water could crack the sink and to run cold water into the sink while you drain the pasta.
is this true? i have been slightly worried every time i drain pasta (have been doing the run cold water thing) so i thought i would turn to the experts for an answer!

My silgranit sinks are 2.5 years old. I've drained pasta in both my sinks without issue. Hot boiling water has been fine for me.

I do sometimes run cold water at the same time just because I read a tip many years ago that this keeps the steam down some and prevents the pre-dinner facial one can get sometimes from draining hot pasta water.

Good tip, Breezy! So I pick up my big heavy pot from the rangetop, pivot to the sink with the colander in it, and it is at that moment I remember to run water while pouring. No problem thanks to tapmaster!

I have had my blanco only for a couple of months but I think I do the cold water out of habit (had SS that you could hear expand/contract when the heat hit it and it drove me nuts). Also, as breezy said avoiding the pre-dinner facial is a bonus.

That said I have never been worried about it if I forget to hit the water on before I pour.

I guess we've heard plenty about Silgranite sinks and the only bad is how they can be damaged in shipping. (And the only thing about Corian not being able to handle hot water is from the manufacturer--never seen a report of it actually happening).

I won't run cold water while dumping hot though. That just feels wasteful in my climate. I'm surprised we haven't been officially discouraged from making pasta what with our delightful drought! :P

Being able to withstand heat up to 536 degrees is not the same as thermal shock. Yes, many people have poured boiling water into there composite sinks with no issues but that doesn't mean they are not risking damage. Thermal shock is a real thing and can happen when pouring very hot water into a cold sink as well as pouring cold water into a hot sink. It is not wise to think just because someone has done it that it is not a risky practice.

just another thought...if the concern is the thermal shock, wouldn't it be good to preheat the sink up first before pouring the boiling water???? Run hot water first, then the temperature difference between the sink and the hot water is less????

illinigirl and linelle - my understanding of the running cold water was while the boiling water was draining, not before. i was under the assumption that the cold faucet water mixed with the boiling water to make it warm? i honestly am just not sure.

Ardcp--yes. When I run cold water, I do it at the exact time I'm draining the hot water. The hot mixes with the cold. I do not pre-chill the sink by turning the cold on first and letting it run. I do a lot of cooking, so I throw a lot of hot water down the sink from many types of cooking uses.

Again, I only do this for steam control, not for sink temperature abatement. I treat my silgranits like I would any other sink. They are here to work for me. I had never read in all my pre-purchase research (which was about 18 months) about silgranits and hot water. I can understand why some think there is a risk. I have never read on this forum of anyone experiencing any issue with draining hot water. Of course, that doesn't mean it can't happen.

It's similar to how I would never ever put a hot pan down directly on any counter top, regardless of the material. I always use a trivet or, mostly, an empty rangetop burner. Yet, people on the forum discuss how they put hot pans out of the oven or cooktop on their granite. I *have* read threads here of cracked stone when people have done this. That's a risk I wouldn't ever take.

I have to say I think this thread is over the top. Really, I had a Silgranit sink for 5 years and never gave a thought about pouring boiling water into it. I did it all the time, and sometimes the kids threw in their soda with ice cubes right before or right after the boiling water. I was a very busy mom and really never gave anything like this issue one second of consideration. I certainly didn't take the time to warm the sink so it won't be cold before I pour the boiling water. Also, as someone has pointed out, there's multiple years' worth of threads on the Kitchens Forum about Silgranit sinks, and not one has reported any issue with boiling water.

Can you pour boiling water into your Silgranit sink? Sure, but 1 out of 100 (or some percentage) is going to experience failure. I'd rather develop some habits that make that 1 in a million. It that's over the top, fine by me.

Would you buy a car if the dealer told you your brakes will fail 1 out of every 100 times so you should try to put your foot on the brake in such a way to avoid brake failure? A sink is made to take very hot and very cold water. A person should not have to think about even slightly when they are pouring pasta water into the sink bowl. There is no reason for a sink to crack during normal usage - and pouring hot water IS normal usage.

We had tenants in our home before we moved in ourselves and one night we got a hysterical phone call about the bath tub cracking. It was one of those made of ground marble and fiberglass. I had the papers from the original owner and this was a $2,000 tub back in '93 so it was not the economy model. However, it seems the house was unusually cold and the water was hot (not boiling) and - zap there went the tub.

Treb is right, luck is involved. Surely the original owners and our tenant had taken many other baths during the that winter but you just never know.

Where did the statistic "1 in 100" come from? As mentioned, the Silgranit sink has been discussed on the Kitchens Forum for years, with not one report of cracking from boiling water. So wouldn't the statistic be .000000000001 or something like that? Actually there is no statistic. A statistic is based on reported fact, and there are no reports of boiling water cracking a Silgranit sink. Let's move on to more pressing kitchen reno topics!

Ardcp - I apologize. I didn't mean rudeness. Forums do not allow for tone of voice, body language, etc. I was just trying to say that there are so many things to think about in a kitchen reno, so many important things. And I felt that this topic didn't make much sense to keep pursuing, as if there were a true problem. On this thread, users of Silgranit sinks are saying they've never had a problem, and there have been no reports ever of boiling water cracking a Silgranit sink. Kitchen renos are stressful enough without creating more stress over an issue that does not exist. I was hoping that anyone reading this thread would be reassured that boiling water in a Silgranit sink is not something they should be worried about. I apologize again that if in my zeal to focus on other kitchen renovation topics that are valid and important worries--and there are so many of them, especially since kitchen renos are so expensive--that it came across as rude.

I have to agree with you, Sahmmy--there's no evidence produced so far that there is an issue. No reports of cracking from boiling water, no manufacturer warning against it. In fact, one of the very few things covered by the Silgranit warranty IS thermal cracking, so it doesn't seem to be a concern to Blanco either.

If anyone HAS had issues, I would certainly like to hear of them, though, so this thread is useful.